1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to railway hopper cars and more specifically to a car having lower side discharge openings and doors which are movable by gravitational forces to an open position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The dump car construction shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,357,700, issued Apr. 26, 1921, discloses a railway car having bottom discharge openings which open downwardly for discharging material from the car. A longitudinally extending actuating bar mounted on rollers includes cam latch devices which move with the bar and which interengage camming surfaces on keepers for retaining the doors in the closed position. Thus the doors are wedged in the closed position by the cam latches which are supported on the movable, longitudinal bar. The present invention is an improvement over this patented construction in that the latch element is a separate pivoted element which is actuated by the longitudinal bar to move between open and closed positions. The latch element of the present arrangement includes camming faces which are separate from the longitudinal actuating rod and the latch is spring-actuated to a closed position.
This arrangement is an improvement over the aforementioned patent.